Jamie Willey, Entry 2: Sanctions Against Israel

Recently, a movement that was once viewed as completely futile, that to impose economic sanctions on Israel, has been gaining a great deal of legitimacy. Businesses, charities, and governments alike have been liquidating assets in Israeli banks, canceling or refusing contracts with Israeli firms, and John Kerry (our secretary of state) has repeatedly warned that efforts to “delegitimise” the statehood of Israel are on the rise, and all of this strife originates in the cruelly ironic persecution of the Palestinians by Israel. These movements have become so significant that Yair Lapid, Israel’s foreign minister, has compared Israel’s current situation in the global political theatre to that of South Africa leading up to the end of Apartheid, going so far as to say “Let’s not kid ourselves … the world listens to us less and less.” The imposition of sanctions could finally lead to a two-state solution, as the European Union, which conducts a third of Israel’s trade, may cut this trade off, leading to the immediate unemployment of at least 10,000 Israelis and the loss of 5.3b USD. It could have the opposite effect, as Israel’s booming tech industry was started as a way to compensate for arab blockades and it’s arms industry by a French arms embargo, but those within Israel opposed to peace are losing confidence fast

Here we have a perfect, if controversial, example of Locke’s social contract at work, albeit with states standing in for individuals. Here we have a state committing evils against people living within its borders, and signs point to the greater international community taking action against said state as punishment. Of course, a more exciting facet of this story is the prospect for a more stable Middle East. Much of the turmoil in the Middle East at this time exists because of the ongoing conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Yes, there is some truly vile anti-Jewish sentiment in the governments of that area of the world, but it persists because of the justification it gets from the expulsion of the Palestinians. Personally, I can barely wait to see how this situation pans out, for good or for ill.